As tensions in retail rise, walkouts become more and more frequent. The region’s supermarket landscape was completely changed by the strikes that happened just over 20 years ago.
But now, Southern California has recently seen a large-scale grocery strike by workers that echoes decisions from the past. The sheer amount of employees willing to walk out is one of the biggest in U.S. retail history.
What’s Changed?
Many are wondering what’s causing the unrest of thousands of workers across the United States. It’s mostly due to wages falling behind for years, understaffing, increasing strain on existing workers, and rising costs of everyday living.
These factors have all put immense pressure on employees at grocery stores across the country all while the companies they work for rake in more money than ever.
The UFCW
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union has been aiding workers’ disputes and empowering them for nearly one hundred years. Now, employees have been encouraged to be more vocal about their frustrations.
At the end of the day, workers aren’t getting greedy or wanting more than is fair but just want proper treatment by Kroger-owned Ralphs, and Albertson-owned stores chains that they work tirelessly for.
Practice Strikes
In order to bring more unity and awareness around the issues that grocery store workers have faced, practice strikes were organized before any large-scale walkouts.
These were held outside stores and served two purposes: to practice what was to come and to send a message to their employers that they weren’t going to stay complacent when working conditions were unsatisfactory.
Unfair Labor Practice
This most recent strike has approved 45,000 workers to walk out. Employees have called it an Unfair Labor Practice action (ULP) and have legal protections.
Workers have cited illegal actions against the strike, including intimidation tactics, surveillance, and retaliation by employers. While ULP actions are protected legally, there are limits to employee demands.
Putting Pressure On Businesses
Strikes and walkouts put a lot of pressure on businesses that are affected by them. More than 700 Kroger and Albertsons-owned chains will be impacted in Southern California by the tens of thousands of employees who are set to walk out.
Without enough employees to manage the stores, businesses will have to consider closing them temporarily, meaning that everything will come to a standstill. This shows the power that employees have and how important it is to keep them happy.
Economic Impacts
While typical strikes can momentarily disrupt isolated stores until disputes are settled, a widespread walkout of 45,000 workers will have a cascading effect on consumers and businesses alike.
Consumers may not be able to go to their usual grocery stores and will look to competitors, driving away business. At its most extreme, this could threaten to displace supply chains, drive prices higher, and challenge food banks. This means that it is in the business’s best interests to settle this dispute quickly and in a professional manner.
How Workers Feel
While looking in from the outside, many might not understand why workers are walking out and causing “unnecessary” drama, but the reality that employees at affected stores are living is one of hardship, burnout, and a feeling of being underappreciated.
For many workers, the walkout is more than just about better pay; it is about the indignity of working conditions.
Not Just Grocery Retail
The grocery retail strike is just the most recent labor dispute amid a dramatic rise in unrest over the last few years. Workers across other sectors have been similarly unhappy, including healthcare, education, entertainment, and logistics.
Unions have played an integral part, empowering employees and aligning contract expirations to maximize collective bargaining power and impact.
Corporate Profits
It can be easy to understand just how shortchanged employees feel when corporate profits are taken into account.
Between 2018 and 2022, Kroger and Albertsons gave billions of dollars to shareholders while employee paychecks couldn’t keep up with inflation, and staffing shortages meant each employee was under even more performance pressure.
Market Shifts
While Kroger, Albertsons, and other businesses are in the shadow of a looming threat of a walkout, other competitors could thrive off of this.
Walmart and Target could gain market share, offer rival business employees better contracts, and attract new shoppers by using it as a PR stunt. This would shift the power of the retail market and skew it in favor of businesses that aren’t wrapped up in labor disputes.
Investors Are Watching
Investors aren’t blind, and they are watching from the sidelines. With a potential walkout of nearly 50,000 workers, disruptions to several businesses would follow, and investors may try to pull out before that happens.
Only successful future negotiations will be able to put investor minds at ease, but many businesses will have to come to the table to satisfy worker rights.
Does Automation Have A Place?
While the human element of grocery chains means that disputes can erupt at any time, investment in automation is an attractive alternative. However, recent efforts in self-checkout counters and other automation have been met with mixed results by consumers.
Lacking the human element could also drive business down, as consumers prefer to interact and get help from real people, not faceless machines.
How Negotiations Are Going
Currently, the walkout is becoming an increasing reality, and the UFCW is working hard to negotiate with the grocery chains that the unrest is stemming from.
Many workers want fair treatment and better salaries, and Union Leaders have already warned businesses that if compromises aren’t met, then the walkout could happen at a moment’s notice.
The Future Of Retail Grocery
The ball is now in grocery store chains’ hands, and whether or not the mass walkout happens hinges on their decisions over the next few weeks.
However, whether or not it happens, the 2025 strike will reshape the grocery retail landscape, and hopefully, a better balance between corporate leadership and workers will be achieved.
Discover more trending stories and Follow us to keep inspiration flowing to your feed!
Craving more home and lifestyle inspiration? Hit Follow to keep the creativity flowing, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!